Top 10 Games to Play with Your Family This Christmas

Matt: Hello! My name is Matt from Shut Up & Sit Down, and maybe you want to play a game with your family in the not too distant future.

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Today we’re going to go through a bunch of games, most of which are available almost all of the time, because we appreciate it’s a pain in the *** when we say “hey, we love these games” and then you go on the internet and they’ve all gone.

Not only that, we are going to be giving you two options for each of our suggestions – we’re going to go with like “Yes! This is a great suggestion, everyone will love this. You cannot go wrong.” And we’re also going to give you a side suggestion for each game that’s a dash more spicy! And what do we mean by that? The second options will be the sort of thing where you start playing with your dad and then halfway through he says “I don’t understand the rules. I don’t like this. I want to go home.” “Dad, you can’t go home. This is your home. We’ve talked about this. And secondly, I love you, but gosh if you don’t understand how the game works just tell us before we get to the end?”

We got a big stack of games here and we’ve categorized them into all the different types of games that you might want to play. So feel free to just watch it all and pick a favorite, or scrub and jump around like an absolute maniac.

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Just One

Just One is a cooperative party game in which you play together to discover as many mystery words as possible. Find the best clue to help your teammate. Be unique, as all identical clues will be cancelled! A complete game is played over 13 cards. The goal is to get a score as close to … Read more

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Podcast #163 – The 2021 Christmas Gift Guide

In this FESTIVE 163rd episode of the Shut Up & Sit Down podcast, the whole gang’s here to talk you through all kinds of games, big and small, that they reckon you should buy for your loved ones this holiday season! A bumper list of 13 entire boardgames; there’s got to be something for everyone, even if one of them is – of course – Quacks of Quedlinburg.

Fancy something we mention in this episode? Tap here for shopping links, videos, and brief written details of every game we’ve recommended in this episode.

Have a lovely weekend, folks!

Tap below for full timestamps and more info!

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Christmas Gift Guide – The 13 Best

This week we assembled the whole editorial team for our 2021 Christmas Gift Guide – with everyone picking a small handful of games that are excellent gifts AND currently actually available to buy!*

Below you’ll find links and a brief description of each game, but for more detailed explanations and recommendations, be sure to listen to the podcast episode that’s paired with this post – in which the whole team go through these individual choices. Thanks for reading and listening along, and do share the article or podcast if you think it’s a valuable resource for others this year. Much love from all of us – LET’S GO!
 

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Tactics and Tactility #2 – With your eyes closed

[Every two weeks, Tactics & Tactility explores the culture and magic of tabletop. To read more, check out the series’ archives or Ava’s original Tactics & Tactility blog.]

Ava: Some games begin with a ritual. An incantation of instructions that call forth the playing field.

Some games have an exchange of secrets. Something hidden. Choices to be made, information shared, and not with everyone, not by everyone.

When this happens, we do something incredibly simple, incredibly mundane. It’s an unusual enough social ritual that it brings magic, uncertainty, dread and wonder.

Sometimes, when we play games, we close our eyes.

I’m playing Just One, at the local pub, and it’s my turn to be led towards a particular clue with the help of the other players. I pull a card, call out a number, and wait while everyone thinks and scribbles. When everyone’s ready, I close my eyes…

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GAMES NEWS! 22/07/19

Ava: Quinns, Quinns, there’s a news emergency! The news pumps are overflowing.

Quinns: Don’t worry, Ava! That’s what they’re supposed to do.

Ava: But no, Quinns, you don’t understand, my cynicism valve has got wedged to ‘can only be excited about cats, Queen and civil disobedience’.

Quinns: Oh dear.

Ava: I’m even a bit surly about the moon!

Quinns: Well, that’s no good. Let me see what you’ve written, then you can report to Decontamination Chamber B for De-Grumping.

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Podcast #90: The Generation Train

Oof! Matt and Quinns have thundered unsteadily into 2019 with a podcast overloaded with games. There’s Blackout: Hong Kong (again), Just One (a party game), Sumer (which isn’t a board game), Quacks of Quedlinburg (which is a board game), Schummel Hummel (or “Cheating Bee”), The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31 (a game of the film), Pipeline (which doesn’t have that many pipes actually) and Gen 7: A Crossroads Game (our first disappointment of the year). After that, we’re sad to report that the structural integrity of the podcast collapsed, killing everyone inside. Extra special thanks to musician and super cool guy Mr. Steve Davit for hooking us up with those sexy new musical stings, and helping us to make our 2019 that much brassier.

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